Granderson goes on the power play

If there's one thing Curtis Granderson has done this season as consistently as hit home runs, it's insist he's not a home run hitter.

"Not at all,'' Granderson said after hitting two of them Tuesday night -- which gave him 25 in the Yankees' 84 games at that point, one more than his 2010 homer total.

Still no?

"No,'' the easy-going centerfielder said. "They've just come a little quicker this year than they have in the past.''

That's an understatement, but at least one other knowledgeable Yankee agrees. Said hitting coach Kevin Long, "I wouldn't consider him a home run hitter either.''

Granderson, an All-Star selection this season, is tied with Mark Teixeira for the team lead in homers -- four behind major-league leader Jose Bautista's 29 -- and is second to Teixeira's 65 RBIs with 62. As his homer total has increased, he has had fun with the byplay with reporters. But semantics aside, Long said it's important to separate home run hitter from home run threat.

"It's a guy who hits a lot of home runs in batting practice and can go deep at will that's more of a home run hitter,'' Long said. "You see Alex [Rodriguez] do that a lot, Tex do that a lot, other guys, like Robby Cano, but . . . Granderson just doesn't miss. His swing is so short and so compact and so explosive, that's what turns him into a dangerous power threat. You have to consider him a power threat. I think that's a better term than a home run hitter.''

That compact swing isn't the one Granderson brought to the Yankees. It was the result of some tinkering he and Long did in mid-August last year when the outfielder, hitting just .239, was struggling across the board. The pair worked on "quieting'' Granderson's swing, essentially eliminating unnecessary movement.

"The main thing is trying to be in position to attack the baseball,'' Granderson said of his power numbers. "I've gotten in position to hit and I don't miss . . . but I'm still trying to put it all together.''

Granderson experienced positive results almost immediately last August, and they've carried over and then some into this season. Entering Thursday night, he had 39 home runs in his last 472 at-bats in his last 130 games beginning Aug. 14 of last season, the second-most in the major leagues in that span behind Bautista, who has 47.

Nine of Granderson's homers this season had come in 96 at-bats against lefties, who regularly had flummoxed him throughout his career.

"He repeats his swing as well as anybody we have,'' Long said. "I always talk about getting into the hitting position and being close to the hitting position. He's eliminated holes. He was very pitchable, you could get him out by going to certain areas, and you just can't now. Fastballs up used to be, I used to see guys do it all the time, he hits them. Changeups down, he's killing those. Flip a curveball in there, he can hit those now.''

Granderson initially was reluctant to overhaul his swing last season, but as he said to Long in August, "How much worse can it get?''

Now the question seems to be, can it get much better?

"I wouldn't say it surprises me,'' Long said, "but it's a great feeling to know that you put in some time and effort and he reciprocated and put in a lot of time and effort, and to get these kind of reaps and rewards for what you've put in and the time, it's fun. I'm enjoying it as much as he is.''